Lu Qiqi and the others started fleeing the famine in June, and now it's mid-September, but the weather is still very hot, with no sign of it getting cold.
To prevent the refugees from coveting their livestock and poultry, the villagers covered the bamboo cages with black cloth. Now that it was time to rest, they thought of feeding them. But when they lifted the black cloth, the chickens and ducks in the cages were lying there quietly, motionless, dead!
Li Shoucai told the village chief about this, and the village chief sighed. Thinking that the refugees were all staying on the hillside to dig for yams, he told everyone to prepare water and cook everything in the pot.
The children laughed as the water was boiled, while the adults looked regretful, wondering how many eggs a dozen chickens and ducks could lay and how many chicks could hatch!
Lijiacun defeated dozens of Tartars, using their water bags to carry water. Those without water bags used bamboo tubes to hold water, and soon they had enough for two pots of water.
Finally, everyone enjoyed a hearty and delicious chicken soup rice meal.
The next morning, Lu Qiqi heard a clap of thunder. She quickly got up and looked up at the sky, but it was clear and there was no sign of rain.
After walking for another half a day, we emerged from the forest.
When the villagers emerged from the forest and saw the vast sky and the endless green mountains, they were overjoyed and danced with delight.
This means that after passing through Yi'an Village, nestled between two mountains, we will reach Heshun Prefecture. What could be more exciting than ending our days of fleeing famine?
After walking for two days, they entered a path between two mountains. The villagers who had been scouting ahead ran back with smiles on their faces, shouting, "Water! There's water ahead!"
Upon hearing that there was water ahead, the villagers, as if quenching their thirst by looking at plums, instantly changed from their previous tired expressions to beaming faces.
Along the way, you can see puddles of all sizes, filled with murky rainwater.
The grass and leaves were still damp with moisture. A gentle sweep across the roadside weeds left my trouser leg soaked.
They continued on their way, searching for water, and finally found a square pool next to a big tree. The pool contained more than twice the amount of water that Lu Qiqi had found last time.
The water in the pool was incredibly murky, almost like pig swill compared to the clear water Lu Qiqi had found!
But seeing that the bamboo tube and water bag were empty, they had no choice but to drink it. A beggar can't complain about the coarseness of the rice, can he? They boiled it over a fire and let it cool overnight, and it was drinkable.
This time, the villagers spontaneously lined up to fetch water.
Lu Qiqi walked over and saw how murky the water was, and thought of making a simple water purifier herself.
She took out cotton and fine gauze from her storage space, and asked the village chief to find a few bamboo tubes for holding water.
Then they arranged for people to find pebbles and sand.
The firewood gathered in the woods had mostly burned to ash and was unusable.
Lu Qiqi didn't have any charcoal in her space. Just as she was wondering what to use as a substitute, Aunt Fang handed her half a bag of charcoal.
Aunt Fang smiled and said, "Qiqi, this is charcoal made by my eldest son. Do you think we can use it?"
Lu Qiqi opened the bag, looked at the gray charcoal, and smiled, "It works, thank you very much, Auntie."
Aunt Fang pointed to her son and said to Lu Qiqi, "When we came out, I thought he was too much trouble, but I didn't expect that we could use charcoal before winter even arrived. If you need charcoal in the future, just ask my son; he knows how to make charcoal."
Following the direction Aunt Fang pointed, Lu Qiqi glanced at Fang's eldest son. He was seven feet tall, with dark skin and regular features, and looked like an honest farmer.
Before Lu Qiqi could take a closer look, Song Yanqing came over and asked, "What are you doing? Do you need help?"
When Aunt Fang saw Song Yanqing coming over, she didn't bother him any further, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then left.
Lu Qiqi looked away and noticed that Song Yanqing looked somewhat displeased, but she couldn't figure out when she had offended him. Since she couldn't figure it out, she simply stopped thinking about it. She said, "I want to make a water purifier. Could you help me make a small hole at the bottom of the bamboo tube, about the size of a chopstick tip?"
Song Yanqing didn't say anything more and did as instructed.
The bamboo tube was sealed with a hole, and the pebbles and sand were retrieved.
Lu Qiqi then placed cotton, fine gauze, crushed charcoal, sand, and pebbles into the bamboo tube in that order, and a simple water purifier was ready.
After making several in a row, Lu Qiqi had someone dig a hole nearby, just big enough to fit a wooden bucket, and then placed the water purifier on the bucket.
After doing all this, it was time to witness a miracle. Lu Qiqi scooped a ladle of water from the square pool and put it into the water purifier. The clean water slowly flowed out from the small hole at the bottom of the bamboo tube.
The villagers had never seen such a miraculous phenomenon before, and they praised Lu Qiqi as the reincarnation of the all-knowing and all-powerful Wenchang Emperor.
Lu Qiqi ignored the praise and reminded him, "Remember to boil it before drinking. Just because the water looks clean doesn't mean it's really clean."
The villagers were overjoyed to see they wouldn't have to drink dirty water and readily agreed. Now that they know the benefits of drinking cooled boiled water—they don't have to worry about stomach aches afterward—they've come to enjoy it.
After Lu Qiqi finished giving her instructions, she was about to turn around and go back when she saw Song Yanqing's lips curl into a smile. She was a little puzzled as to how this person could change his expression so quickly. She asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Song Yanqing said, "I'm laughing at what's going on in your little head all day long. You come up with all sorts of strange and unheard-of ideas so easily."
Lu Qiqi snorted and ignored him. While everyone's attention was focused on the water purifier, she secretly went into her space to feed Xiao Hua, and then went to the chili field to pick some chilies.
As soon as they entered the mountains, Lu Qiqi felt that the air was too cold and damp. There was no fresh ginger, not even dried ginger. They could only pick some chili peppers to boil in water so that everyone could sweat and avoid catching a cold.
Lu Qiqi handed the chili peppers to Li Shi and asked her to distribute them to everyone.
Li took the chili peppers without asking any questions and immediately arranged for them to be distributed to the villagers.
Lu Qiqi thought that Liu Tong was still unconscious, so if all else failed, she would arrange for him to receive acupuncture.
As she walked toward the carriage, she saw Zhu Zi carrying a bowl of vegetable porridge, heading toward the carriage.
When Zhu Zi saw Lu Qiqi, he immediately smiled, "My master has woken up!"
Lu Qiqi's face immediately darkened. She said, "And then you gave him porridge?!"
Seeing that Lu Qiqi's complexion was not good, Zhu Zi was afraid that something might have gone wrong, so he quickly said, "No, Master just woke up and said he was hungry. This is what I asked Dun Zi to cook. He hasn't had time to drink it yet."
Upon hearing that he hadn't eaten yet, Lu Qiqi's expression softened slightly, and she said, "I'll go check on him. Don't feed him anything yet."
Lu Qiqi got into the carriage. Li Dashun's injuries were no longer a big deal, and he had already gone back to find his wife. Only Liu Tong, with his thin face, was left staring at Lu Qiqi.
Lu Qiqi asked him, "Are you hungry?"
Liu Tong said in a hoarse voice, "I'm hungry. Zhu Zi said he would get me something to eat, but he hasn't come back yet."
Lu Qiqi asked, "Did you pass gas?"
Liu Tong was puzzled and did not speak.
Lu Qiqi stated bluntly, "Did you fart?"
Liu Tong: "..."
Outside the carriage, a pillar holding a bowl: "...".
Outside the carriage, Song Yanqing, who was feeding the horses, was speechless.
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